Title: Mnevermind 1: The Persistence of Memory
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Cover Artist: Jordan Castillo Price
Publisher: JCP Books
Buy Link: Amazon
Genre: Paranormal M/M
Length: Novel (50,250 words)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
A Guest Review by jeayci
Review Summary: This book felt like a fantastic first date that ended abruptly, full of excitement and promise that leaves you edgy and eager for the second date, when you’ll finally start to really get to know this intriguing person (or story, as the case may be).
Blurb: Every day, Daniel Schroeder breaks his father’s heart.
While forgetting your problems won’t solve them, it does seem like it would make life a heck of a lot easier. Daniel thought so once. Now he knows better. He and Big Dan have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like his father remembers.
They’re both professionals in the memory field—they even run their own memory palace. So shouldn’t they be able to figure out a way to overwrite the persistent false memory that’s wreaking havoc on both of their lives? Daniel thought he was holding it together, but the situation seems to be sliding out of control. Now even his own equipment has turned against him, reminding him he hasn’t had a date in ages by taunting him with flashes of an elusive man in black that only he can see.
Is it some quirk of the circuitry, or is Daniel headed down the same path to fantasy-land as his old man?
Review: This was a fascinating adventure and exploration of mind and memory, with heroes outside the “norm” for m/m. I also loved that they were both something other than the classic, youthful perfection of the typical m/m romance hero. That said, this story wasn’t particularly heavy on romance. So if you’re in the mood for a romance, I’m not sure this is the book. And if you want a HEA ending, I definitely wouldn’t recommend this one.
The ending was a bit more abrupt than I’d have preferred, with a twist that I thought was unexpected and perfect, but it was NOT a HEA. Not even a HFN, but not because anything was particularly wrong at the end; rather, the end of the book was just the beginning of the romance. There’s supposed to be a sequel, and there darn well better be! I don’t regret having read this now, but I think I’d have been happier to have read it when I could immediately dive into the next one, because this felt more like a serial (which I hate) than a series (which I love). The distinction I’m making there is that in a series, each installment is (or should be) a complete story unto itself, whereas installments in a serial are a tease that leave you with the mental/emotional equivalent of blue balls as you wait for more.
I also had a moment of confusion when the “Life is Awesome” pack suddenly became the “Life is Fabulous” pack about halfway through the story. I wondered if it was a typo, or if the character was being snarky, or what was intended. Now I think it was just overlooked in edits, which were otherwise excellent, but I’m mentioning it in the hope that other readers won’t be jarred the way I was.
The story of Daniel’s relationship with his father was as poignant as it was fascinating, and I’m eager to see where it goes. There was a great cast of well-rounded secondary characters I’m looking forward to seeing more of. Soon, please! This book felt like a fantastic first date that ended abruptly, full of excitement and promise that leaves you edgy and eager for the second date, when you’ll finally start to really get to know this intriguing person (or story, as the case may be).